The present invention relates to conveyors and particularly to a spiral belt conveyor for transporting articles vertically along a substantially helical path.
Conveyor belts are typically used for conveying bulk material, such as foodstuffs or other materials, that must be transported through a cooled or refrigerated environment. Typical conveyor belts have the advantage that relatively little energy is required for transporting the bulk material across horizontal surfaces. The conveyance of bulk material, however, is limited by such systems to horizontal routes or to routes with only relatively small inclines. To overcome greater heights or inclines, it is necessary to transfer the bulk material to another conveyor system, for example, a bucket chain conveyor. In the transport of material to be refrigerated, it is often desirable to maximize the time of transport within the cooled environment. It would be desirable to provide a conveyor belt system that transports goods along an extended path.